The changes being considered are about responding to new technologies and market forces. And, perhaps, reducing the overall square feet of billboards in the city.

"We don't want to have Fort Collins look like the movie 'Blade Runner' with Harrison Ford in it, or Las Vegas or Reno,” City Council member Bob Overbeck said at a work session regarding the sign code last month, adding that he thinks Fort Collins has generally gotten its sign policies right so far.

“There may be an appropriate place to have these signs in a certain size and manner. But I've been to other communities, as have other members of the council, and I’ve seen big bright signs on the road, one after the other, and I don't think that’s the way to go."

City staff is working on a draft update to the sign code. It’ll be the first major update to the city’s sign code since 1994.

The primary goal is simply to clarify the code, Senior City Planner Noah Beals said.

The secondary goal is to look at the frequent sign requests that the existing code doesn’t already explicitly allow.

Once the draft of the plan is ready, it’ll be presented in detail to the public, complete with various outreach efforts, Senior City Planner Noah Beals said.

One consideration involves allowing existing digital signs — the kind that are on-property, not the looming off-site billboards — to use more than two colors. Most digital sign companies don’t even make models that aren’t full-color anymore, Beals said. The second consideration is the question of looming off-site billboards.

The original sign code was put in place with the idea that billboards around town would eventually come down and not be replaced. The attrition has been slower than expected, but it’s happening.

City staff is exploring a compromise of sorts with traditional billboards: Adding X square feet of digital billboard space in return for getting rid of Y square feet of traditional billboards is one possibility. Beals emphasized that the update wouldn’t mean people would be required to take down existing signs.

City staff is looking at only a handful of spots along major corridors, such as South College Avenue and connections to Interstate 25, for possible digital billboard locations. Currently, there’s a digital billboard on the west side of I-25 near Carpenter Road on the southern edge of the city. It’s in unincorporated Larimer County, though it’s part of the city’s growth management area.

The City Council has expressed little, if any, interest in flashing, animated billboards. But, some members noted, digital billboard technology has progressed to where it can be aesthetically pleasing and more effective at conveying information than traditional billboards.

Council member Ray Martinez said the E-470 Public Highway Authority's digital signs on the expressway near Denver “look stunning.” Not too bright, soft light, eye-catching and easy to read, he said. Council member Kristin Stephens noted that they could be useful for emergency situations, too.

Council member Ross Cunniff said he’d want strict regulations on the billboards, including brightness and dimming during certain hours.

"Proceed with caution, if at all, is the final summary, I'd say,” Cunniff said at the work session. “I would also ask we not be presenting the one side of, ‘should we expand the sign code,’ because I think contracting it would also be an option."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the the digital billboards on E-470 belong to the E-470 Public Highway Authority, not the Colorado Department of Transportation.